Long Beach names Health Department director

LONG BEACH >> City Manager Pat West on Monday announced the appointment of Kelly Colopy, the manager of a Utah public mental health network, as director of the Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services.

Colopy has been Network Director for Optum Salt Lake County since last year.

She replaces Ron Arias, who had led the Health Department since February 2000. Arias announced his retirement last year and left the office in December.

“Kelly Colopy exemplifies the type of leadership we were looking for in a new Health Department Director,” West said in statement.

“She has demonstrated the ability to manage a complex set of responsibilities over the course of her career, and we are pleased to welcome her aboard the city’s executive management team.”

Colopy manages a network of 220 service providers delivering about $60 million in mental health and substance abuse services.

She was previously associate director of the Salt Lake County Human Services and Community Services Departments and research director for Substance Abuse at the Utah Department of Human Services.

“My entire career thus far has reflected a personal commitment to working with communities and individuals to support successful and healthy living,” Colopy said in a statement. “I am thrilled to be appointed the city’s next Director of Health and Human Services, and look forward to merging the enthusiasm I have for public health and human services with the city’s commitment to providing quality services.”

According to the city, Colopy’s salary will be $185,000. She will start sometime in early September.

The Long Beach Health Department is one of three city-operated local health jurisdictions in California along with Pasadena and Berkeley. Other local cities are served by Los Angeles County.

Known simply as the Health Department, the Long Beach agency has five bureaus focused on 31 missions — ranging from homeless services and veterans affairs supportive housing, to preventive health and public health nursing, to vector control, which is the monitoring and control of disease-carrying animals and insects.

Eric Bradley can be reached at 562-499-1254

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Eric Bradley covers Long Beach City Hall and politics. He joined the Press-Telegram in August 2011 and previously reported for the Daily Breeze and the Cincinnati Enquirer. Reach the author at eric.bradley@langnews.com
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